Young (and New) Birders Flock to YBC – Georgia Wildlife Blog

The 19th annual Georgia Youth Birding Competition not only drew a crowd — about 130 young birders from across the state took part — it drew a new crowd.

For almost half of the teams, the birdathon this April was their first. “We had new rookie teams in every age division,” event founder and coordinator Tim Keyes said.

Which is all more evidence that the annual event is reaching its goal of getting kids outdoors and interested in birds.

DeKalb County Birding Crew and DNR’s Tim Keyes celebrate the children’s finish as the top first-year primary division team. (Max Nootbaar/DNR)

The 2025 competition ran from April 4-12, ending in an awards banquet at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield. During the nine-day span, kindergarteners through high-schoolers picked a 24-hour period and competed by age group to find the most bird species.

Teams sporting names such as Jackson Juncos, Chirp Squad and Robin Noodles hailed from Alto, Harlem and Brunswick.

“Seeing all the tired but excited teams arrive, and hearing all the stories about the day of birding and how birding has impacted their lives and families, is always one of the highlights of my year,” said Keyes, a program manager with DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section.

The Amazing Anhingas from Glynn County won the high school division and overall competition, seeing or hearing 121 species in a 24-hour search that ranged from Forsyth to the coast. Ten of the 37 teams listed 70 or more species and two had over 100.

Find full results here.

See winning entries in the T-shirt Art Contest.

The 2026 Youth Birding Competition banquet will be held April 18. Registration opens this winter at georgiawildlife.com/ybc.